Claudius and his great-uncle Augustus

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Parthicus, May 13, 2017.

  1. Parthicus

    Parthicus Well-Known Member

    Here's my final win from Frank Robinson's auction:
    Thessalonika Claudius_Augustus.jpg
    Roman Provincial. Macedon, Thessalonica. AE 22mm. Claudius (41-54). Obverse: Bust of Claudius right, inscription in Greek "Ti Clau Kaisa[r]". Reverse: Bust of Augustus right, inscription in Greek behind head "Thessalo...". RPC I, 1579.

    Thessalonica was founded shortly after Alexander the Great's death, and by early Roman Imperial times was a thriving city. It was a major mint for Late Roman bronzes, and today is the second largest city in Greece. The story of Claudius is too well known for me to rehash; if you need a refresher, go watch the 1970s BBC adaptation of "I, Claudius", or better yet, read Robert Graves two-novel series "I, Claudius" and "Claudius the God" (they condensed both books into the BBC version). On this coin, Claudius is shown along with his great-uncle Augustus.

    I won this coin at Frank Robinson's auction, where it was described as showing Augustus on the obverse (with the "Thessalo..." inscription) and Julius Caesar (labeled "Theos") on the reverse. While there is an issue of Thessalonika like that, the inscription "Ti Klau" is very clear and removes all doubt. This serves as a reminder that attributions in auction catalogs, dealer lists, etc. are not always right. It's still a nice coin, even if it's not a posthumous Julius Caesar portrait.
     
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  3. Bing

    Bing Illegitimi non carborundum Supporter

    It's a very nice coin @Parthicus. Congrats.
     
    gregarious likes this.
  4. Mat

    Mat Ancient Coincoholic

    Nice addition!
     
  5. gregarious

    gregarious E Pluribus Unum

    an asset to any collection. nice P.
     
  6. Sallent

    Sallent Live long and prosper

    Amazing, two for the price of one. What a fantastic purchase.

    Mine were two for the price of two: :(

    ok5LK4kT5sY3Z8bQ9tcCgNz6r7JeR3 (1).jpg claudiius_6.jpg
     
  7. gregarious

    gregarious E Pluribus Unum

    well, that's better than one for the price of twoo_O
     
    Sallent likes this.
  8. chrsmat71

    chrsmat71 I LIKE TURTLES!

    looks like a nice chunker also...good and thick. do you know much it weighs or is it still inbound?
     
  9. ancientcoinguru

    ancientcoinguru Well-Known Member

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